I agree with and appreciate the line:"We love feminism when it is
defined and devoted to the true celebration of womanhood and to the worthy goal
of complete equality with men. "That is what feminism should be about,
not the blurring of the roles of men and of women!

Good article. It is sad we have to state the obvious sometimes. To see how far
things have fallen regarding gender, here are a few examples in recent news:

- India's supreme court recently ruled to recognize transgender
people as third gender- Germany recently changed its law to allow a third
gender option for parents filling out birth certificates- Though not
directly gender related, a Florida judge recently approved that a baby girl will
list three people as parents on her birth certificate -- a married lesbian
couple and a gay man

So, what a world we live in! Birth certificates
with 3 or more genders and 3 or more parents. What other nonsense is coming in
the future?

The scripture in Mormon 6:19 comes to mind, "O ye
fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair
ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!"

I appreciated the author's clarification that there are two representations
of feminism, and that the problem with the second representation is that it
promotes making gender irrelevant. Gender is as relevant during this mortal
stage of our eternal existence as it was in our pre-mortal existance. It will
be relevant to our existence after death in the Spirit World and after the Final
Judgement, for all eternity.

I appreciate many of the ideas in this article. There is value is celebrating
differences rather than trying to make everything the same.Those who are
gay do not believe that gender is irrelevant. People who are gay only fall in
love with people of one gender and not the other, so there is a definite
distinction of gender. Gender matters to gay people as a much as to straight
people, the difference is the nature of their romantic attractions.Many,
but not all, gay people experience some gender non-conformity, meaning their
behavior or gender expression does not conform to dominant gender norms of male
and female. Just as it is important to celebrate macro differences between
genders, I think it is also valuable to appreciate and celebrate the micro
differences between individuals within a gender. I recently watched a
video on the ldswalkwithyou youtube channel where an active Mormon who
transitioned from female to male in high school and his family tell their story.
It helped me have a bit of empathy for that situation. I definitely recommend
anyone who doesn't know much about transgender issues to look that up and
try to understand a bit more.

So what do the Eyres propose to do with people like my good friend, a little boy
I grew up with, who played the violin, liked to dance and read fairy tales and
play with dolls, and who had no interest whatsoever in girls? His male anatomy
just didn't connect with his individuality. Of course, he was mercilessly
tormented by all the "real men" in our school class (his nickname was
"Pansy"). What, pray tell, will it mean for him to get "ironed
out" in the next life? Will it mean that he will automatically become a
"real man" and love football and girls?

This is an excellent article, and I agree with everything the Eyres say for the
most part. In fact, in a different context, this would be an excellent
manifesto for those that are 'different,' namely gays, lesbians and
those with gender identity issues. We should celebrate their differences and
fight for equality when it comes to how they live their lives.

I'm still not convinced that it is helpful (much less necessary) to assign
particular attributes to specific genders. Differences are wonderful. And I will
agree, softly, that men can have similar qualities that are different from those
of women. A lot of this can be attributed to the sex hormones testosterone and
estrogen. But labeling those qualities as strictly male or female doesn't
really benefit anyone, but rather has great potential to do harm to an
individual that does not exhibit those specific qualities. You cannot tell me
that even still strong, forthright women are often not constantly denigrated
unfairly in society. This is not an LGBTQ issue. There are many straight men who
demonstrate "classically" feminine qualities and vise versa. But putting
a societal implication that a person is somehow less desirable or important in
society simply because they do not express a particular set of norms tied to
their gender is damaging, especially to developing adolescents. Remove the
"feminine" and "masculine" titles and just call them qualities
and celebrate the strengths and differences of those qualities.

"WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY, and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage
between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to
the Creator" plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

ALL
HUMAN BEINGS, male and female, are created in the image of God. Each is a
beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a
divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual
premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose...

...WE WARN
that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or
offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand
accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family
will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by
ancient and modern prophets.

WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and
officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain
and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society." (The Family:
A Proclamation to the World)

I stand with what the prophets had
spoken concerning gender. How about you?

"I recently watched a video [...] where an active Mormon
who transitioned from female to male in high school [...]."

Mentioning "active" Mormon and changing genders perked my ears up. I
was unable to find the video you mention.

Keep in mind general
church policy is church members who change genders are very likely to receive
church discipline. This can potentially result in excommunication. Local leaders
can refer to the office of the first presidency for an individual's
particular situation.

On a related matter, those who are not church
members, but have changed genders, can still possibly be baptized into the
church. The mission president has to get involved for the baptismal interview
and review the case individually.

Those who have changed genders,
either before or after being baptized into the church, cannot receive a temple
recommend or receive the priesthood. These policies are consistent with the
church's teachings on the importance of gender in all stages of life --
pre-mortality, mortality, post-mortality -- and family responsibilities.

So what of my cousin who has Androgen Insensitivity
Syndrome? She was born with XY chromosomes but her body does not respond at all
to testosterone, and thus developed to be a mature and beautiful female. Do the
prophets tell her to marry a man because she looks female? Or a woman because
she is genetically male? Gender is more complex than genitals or chromosomes. It
is not as simple as the authors of this document would have you want to
believe.

I think they missed the mark and ended up humiliating and
causing psychological grief to a whole class of already harassed and
misunderstood individuals.

"We love feminism when it is defined and devoted to the true celebration of
womanhood and to the worthy goal of complete equality with men"

Is this the same feminism that we saw on display at Gen Conf that demanded the
Priesthood? Also the feminism I have seen over the years promotes abortion,
hates marriage and children and encourages women to focus on themselves and
their careers. This is 100% opposite from what the Savior taught in the New
Testament.

"Do the prophets tell her to marry a man because she looks
female? Or a woman because she is genetically male?"

If your
cousin is LDS, the local church leader (stake president) can refer to the office
of the first presidency for counsel. There is not a blanket LDS policy for every
anomaly that occurs regarding gender. It gets reviewed on an individual
basis.

Please don't be offended by my use of the term anomaly.
The reason for this term is because of AIS' rarity. It is estimated that
complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) affects 2 to 5 individuals per
100,000 people who are genetically male. If the U.S has 150 million genetically
male individuals, there would be up to an estimated 3,000-7,500 individuals with
complete AIS the U.S.

@1.96 Standard DeviationsYou can find the video on YouTube if you search
for "LDSwalkwithyou" It is called the "The Allgood/Moore Family.

The young man who transitioned female to male is active LDS attending a
YSA ward where leaders include him and make him feel welcome. His extended
family and friends have all rallied around him now, but he went through a lot of
pain in middle and high school to get to the point he is at now.

Is
the benefit of teaching strict gender norms worth the pain that it causes to the
people who naturally don't fit those norms? Can we teach the truth about
gender without excluding, and maybe even while celebrating people who are
different?

I got really emotional watching the video as I realized
how little I understood or had ever tried to understand transgender issues. His
life has been complicated and it is tough to rationalize with strict gender
norms, but when I hear him tell his story, I see God working in his life and
recognize that he is loved by God and is my brother.

I hope your cousin's family is relying on the advice of
competent medical providers to deal with the situation, and then explaining to
the non-medical religious people how it is and how it will be.

@Tiago:Several people in my life are transgender, both MtoF and FtoM.
That connecting has led me to work as an advocate in medical settings for trans
individuals and to teach classes to medical personnel about caring for
transgender patients.

Thank you for taking the time to watch that
video. Trans people are rejected by both sides, making a painful situation even
worse. Education and understanding can help so much.

I also
recommend an older documentary called "Southern Comfort" about the death
of a transman named Robert Eades from uterine cancer. There is also a book
called "Transmen and FTMs" that details reports of Female to Male people
through history.

My experience is that we have a social concept of
gender that is based on assumptions about biology. The actual expression of
gender is varied and only conforms to the stereotypes in some cases.

That is a religious document and may serve for the
followers of your religion.

It does not address a myriad of very
real medical conditions that can and do blur the lines of gender for many
people.

Modern technology is being used to study the brain functions
of homosexuals, heterosexuals and transgender individuals of both genders. While
that research is new, it is already showing patterns that seem to confirm what
people have long claimed experientially: brain function is different in some
significant ways, and gay men and transgender women often have patterns that
resemble those of natal women; lesbians and transmen often resemble natal men.

I work as a patient advocate, and know several doctors who are on
the cutting edge of research. Much of the population is clearly male or female,
however there is a significant "gray area" where such distinctions are
harder to make.

I hope you might take some time to do research, so
you can have some understanding of these people who are often reviled or
bullied, adding significant pain to an already hard path.

Patriot: I believe the Eyer's meant when they said "worthy goal of
complete equality with men", complete eqaulity in the things that men and
women can be equal in, such as same pay for the same work position, equal in job
opportunities, equal in receiving grades in a class - there are many ways they
can be equal, but still maintain their feminity, and their place in the world as
righteous, beautiful daughters of our heavenly father.

How beautiful the world would be if it would just conform to MY simple, easy
worldview.

Every home would have a mother, a father, 2.3 children,
one dog and one cat. Every father would be a Ward Cleaver, every mother a June.
Every boy would be captain of his football team and every girl, head
cheerleader.

The simple view tells us that God would never make
someone gay or who identifies as a gender other than the one SO obvious to ME.
But the reality is that the world is much more complicated than that. There are
more chromosome groupings than just XX and XY. There are more combinations of
hormones and brain chemicals than mentioned in 8th grade health class.

Sadly, we have a history of treating people outside the norm really, really
badly. Also sadly, the message of this editorial is not "We all deserve
kindness and respect" but instead it tells us "Conform so I won't
have to keep treating you really, really badly."

To all those addressing the reality and concern of transgendered people. This
article is focused on the 99% of people who identify themselves with their
physical gender.

As for the 0.3% of transgendered people out there,
I see no reason they couldn't support the message here, which is that if
women feel marginalized, then the approach should not be to become more like the
other men, but to promote the importance, beauty and strengths of women as the
are.